Page 45 - Loyalty Described in the Qur'an
P. 45
The Key to Faithfulness: Love and Fear of Allah
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F Fear of Allah
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Love towards Allah is a very important part of faithfulness, but
it is not enough in itself. There must also be a sense of fear towards
Him. Fear of Allah aids believers to be meticulous in obeying His
commands and prohibitions, to avoid behavior that will not please
Him, and to exercise "will-power" against the intimations of Satan
and their lower-selves.
Human beings were created weak. Allah tells us this in the
Qur'an:
Allah desires to make things lighter for you. Man was cre-
ated weak. (Surat an-Nisa', 28)
The voice of our lower-selves and that of Satan continually urge
us towards evil. Great determination or will-power is needed in
order not to become entangled up in these satanic intimations. So,
fear of Allah renders a person's sense of determination firm. In the
Qur'an, Allah commands believers to fear Him:
You who believe! Fear Allah and let each self look to what it
has sent forward for Tomorrow. Have fear of Allah. Allah is
aware of what you do. (Surat al-Hashr, 18)
Fear of Allah urges an individual to try to live every moment of
his life in a way that would please Allah, and to be awake to the de-
sires of Satan and his own inner-self, and to be alert and prepared for
the tricks and games that they play. This will vitiate the deceit of
Satan and the inner voice of the lower-self that want to get him to do
their unbounded will.
For this reason, Satan and the inner voice of the ego are particu-
larly interested in removing the fear of Allah from people. They
want to prevent them from fearing Allah by false intimations, such
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